Essay Glossary

Audience

We instinctively know how to speak and behave in different social situations. Well, most of us, anyway. There is that one guy who acts like he’s at a frat party no matter where he goes. It can make for an uncomfortable funeral.

For those of us who do have some semblance of propriety, however, we often forget that this rule carries over to our writing, too.

In essay writing, it’s important to remember who your readers are (they’re not always wearing nametags), and to match your tone, language, and supporting points to your readers. In most cases, the readers are your teachers, which means that your essays must be reasonably formal and devoid of text-speak and emoticons. Of course, the exception to this rule is Mr. Martin “OMG” B☺☺ker, your kooky third period Creative Writing teacher.

Example:

What not to do: “ok so I hope u agree with me that parents r zombies lol laterzzz xoxo”

What to do: “Consider the preceding evidence and you will agree that parents can closely resemble zombies.”